Hi All,

I thought I'd create a thread to log my experiences with the T2 remote. It's been in my hands for a day and a half, and I have most of it configured to my pleasantly surprised liking. I had had some doubts in my mind about how well some things might or not work, but overall I am more than pleased with what I have been able to set up.

This is just a heads up - tomorrow with more time I will post a more detailed account of my experiences - the good, the bad and the ugly. There are a couple of things that need more digging into and there are some caveats as usual, but what I have right now far exceeds my expectations as far as a home theatre control experience goes. Using this thing is a total joy. The configurable hard buttons make a total difference.

Now back to my life which has been on hold since yesterday afternoon (I finally got to bed around 3:40am, to get up at 7:00am for the F1 race qualifying from France - ouch).

Cheers,

DJ

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Update 1 - Detailed impressions
-------------------------------------

A. WHY I LIKE THIS REMOTE SO MUCH

OK, I'm done with my full functional programming, and have tweaked and changed the layout to my liking. In two days I have a far more efficient and usable remote than my Pronto could ever be, with all the functions I had, plus. The reasons are several.

1. The hard buttons, which work very well, can be used with your eyes closed.

2. The programming allows you to create very flexible configurations with a little imagination. Example:

In my DSS devices (I have a Hughes HIRD-4532 Platinum and a Sony SAT-3) I have set up the Index button to work as follows:

- Normal click activates the Index
- Hold the button and the Info / Display function triggers - it comes up very quickly
- Double click and the Menu gets activated.

This macro works without a hitch - no glitches. I am quite amazed. This setup works great for dish surfing.

I've also set the keypad so that double-clicking on a number no matter where I am switches the remote to a particular device. This also works great in navigating.

Notice that both these processes can be executed in total darkness strictly by feel. And you could tape a cheat-sheet in the back to direct other family and friends :-).

3. The display is very bright legible even at sharp angles, and the touch action reliable (we'll have to see how it is after a few months).

4. I have been able to press the small button size with no problems. Granted I don't have large hands, but there doesn't seem to be much of a parallax issue.

5. The switching between frames or devices is instantaneous.

6. The size and shape lend themselves very well for one-handed use in the your lap or next to you, and lets you shift quickly between hard-button area to the display for one-handed use while holding.

7. The tilt switch works great - light just when you need it. I do wish the illumination switch toggled, so it would turn the light off if it's on.

8. Once you have a library built up (and with Remote Central that should be quick) laying out the remote is a relative snap. And making changes is very quick. You can copy or move buttons, pages, commands and macros around with impunity, singly or in groups. The drag-n-drop interface is a joy to use. In two days I have not a compromise, but sonething that works great for me.

9. The "hidden" unsupported hex editor let me copy Pronto hex codes easier than learning them. And with a little work it's usability can easily increase tenfold.

Geesh, I sound like danged salesman, but I am excited. The unfortunate thing is that I was offered a good deal on accessories for my good words and time spent, and I feel I should decline because I feel weird about it.

B. WHAT I DIDN"T LIKE ABOUT IT

1. For starters, it doesn't like the notorious Sony TA-E9000ES remote at all. I tried many position variations with no luck. I have a couple of more straws to grasp at but I'm not holding my breath. On the other hand, I now have a comprehensive 9000ES library thanks to my Pronto and the T2 hex editor, and any 9000ES owners will have it. So, in my case my Pronto saved my T2's butt :-).

RTI need to make a comprehensive library available. It would make a great advantage for marketing the product. The excellent library editor and architecture make this a no-brainer. In the meantime, they should offer a nice deal to pioneers who work at creating what they should have made available :-).

2. The remotes need to be carefully aligned for reliable learning of codes. And the codes may need or benefit from some tweaking of the minimum repetition factor. Thankfully they are very reliable and the library editor makes tweaking and testing codes in bulk quantities quick and easy.

3. The serial connector plug looks fragile and pins might get bent if care isn't taken.

4. Waiting for the batteries to charge initially was sheer torture, since there's no way to use it with an adapter! Once done though, the two batteries provide continuous use.

C. NEXT TIME ...

I'll give more details about my devices and configuration. OK, Daniel, start getting that File Area ready!

Have a great 4th,

DJ

Thanks DJ,

Mine should arrive today. I'll throw in my 2cts worth once I got through the process. If the unit is as good as the software....:)

Arjen

Update 2 - Some details on my configuration.

Equipment Controlled
--------------------

Preamplifier: Sony TA-E9000ES, with TA-N9000ES Power Amp
CD Player: Sony CDP-X779ES
DVD Player: Sony DVP-S7700
DSS Receiver 1: Hughes HIRD-4532 Platinum
DSS Receiver 2: Sony SAT-3
DVHS Recorder: Hughes HDR-205
SVHS Recorder: Sony SLV-R1000
Television: Sony KW-34HD1 HDTV
X-10 Power Control


Basic Layout
------------

The HOME page controls the preamp and links to all devices. Each device has its own page, except MD and Tape which are strictly manual and only preamp switching is required.

The page / frames layouts are as follows. An indented page means it's linked via an LCD button in the parent page's first frame.

Preamp (HOME) - 2 frames
Setup - 3 frames
CD - 3 frames
DVD - 3 frames
DSS 1 - 2 frames
Station Channels - 2 frames
Music Channels - 1 frame
DSS 2 - 4 frames
SVHS - 5 frames
TV - 5 frames
DVHS - 1 frame


Navigation
----------

The HOME page LCD contains links to all devices (duh! :-). In addition, from any device page, double-clicking buttons 1-7 will switch the T2 to a specific device page:

1 - DSS 1
2 - DVD
3 - CD
4 - DSS 2
5 - SVHS
6 - TV
7 - DVHS (from DSS 1 page only)


Device Selection
----------------

Holding the device button down in the HOME page no only switches to the device page as described in NAvigation, but also powers up the required devices and sets all the proper inputs. The two bottom music buttons set the system up for the DSS 1 device and go to either the classical or dance music channel. Holding down the power button in a device page will set the system up for that device also.


The Home / Preamp Page
----------------------

In addition to providing links to the devices as described above, I have set up the cursor buttons to select various favorite soundfields (normal click and hold providing different choices in some) and decoder modes, and the numeric keypad is split so that 1-6 select specific center speaker levels, and the 7-0, * and Enter select specific surround speaker levels.


Cursor Keys in the SVHS and DVD Pages
-------------------------------------

These are set up so that normally they control the menu cursor, but when held control the transport (Right for play, Select for pause, Down for stop).


Three functions in one key!
---------------------------

This actually works really well! In both my DSS devices, the Guide key is programmed as follows:

Normal press: show the Guide
Hold down: triggers the Info function
Double-click: shows the options menu

Because you use the info function to get details in the guide, and the guide function to change the guide format, it all actually flows very well.

Hopefully we'll be able to load some configuration files soon! Cheers,

DJ

Woops! Sorry - looks like the indent blanks got sucked out of the basic layout list!

DJ

DJ - would you care to list the ones that should have been indented or are you just trying to tease us? : )

Just checking to see if anybody really cared - most probably not :-).

--------------------------------------

Preamp (HOME) - 2 frames
Setup - 3 frames
CD - 3 frames
DVD - 3 frames
DSS 1 - 2 frames
Station Channels - 2 frames
Music Channels - 1 frame
DSS 2 - 4 frames
SVHS - 5 frames
TV - 5 frames
DVHS - 1 frame

--------------------------------------

DJ

Damn! I guess the text parser must strip the leading spaces, which is REALLY annoying! And you can't even edit the message once posted. DANIEL!!! Let's get a slightly more flexible editing function :-).

DJ

This has nothing to do with the forum -- it's HTML in general (ie the fault of your browser). No matter how many blank spaces you put, they'll only show one. There's a particular tag that preserves current spacing <PRE>stuff</PRE>, or you can put in a hard space with &nbsp;.

Oh, right, I keep forgetting this is being re-formatted by the browser - I take back any slurrs on the editing software ... sorry for the childish rant, although it was fun :-).

--------------------------------------

Preamp (HOME) - 2 frames
    Setup - 3 frames
CD - 3 frames
DVD - 3 frames
DSS 1 - 2 frames
    Station Channels - 2 frames
    Music Channels - 1 frame
DSS 2 - 4 frames
SVHS - 5 frames
TV - 5 frames
DVHS - 1 frame

--------------------------------------

DJ

Hi DJ,

Thanks for the clarification. A couple of questions, based on your experience with the T2:

1. Regarding the use of alternate button functions, in terms of responsiveness, how much of a compromise is it to add a double-click function on top of a single button push? I understand you can vary the amount of time between clicks...what values have you found to give the most natural response, where the double-click is usable without incurring too much of a delay for single button push functions?

2. Does it make sense to split device functions into as many single-frame pages as you can, to get the most flexibility in jumping access from other pages?

Thanks again for your detailed and informative observations.

Regards,
Philip Brandes

Yeah...good question. Would like to see some other user experiences on this too.

I used the click-and-hold method in DVD mode for the arrow pad. A single click sent the navigation commands for the DVD menu, a click-and-hold sent the transport control commands. I did not like the result. Especially navigating the DVD menu got pretty slow.

How do thers solve this. I assume the delays also occur with double-clicks (have not tried)?

Arjen,

Yes, I wouldn't consider an extended press function (except as a last resort) for the reasons you state. However, a double-click is a more natural operation for anyone used to using a mouse, and if the timing can be set short enough to provide fairly good response on the single button press as well, it would be worth considering. That's why I asked about double-clicking specifically.

Also, to amplify on my second question, I was thinking in terms of a pre/pro, for example--putting surround effect modes on one page and input selections on a separate page, rather than using 2 screens for the preamp device page. Seems like that would offer more jump flexibility, given the T2 will only jump to the first screen of a page?

Again, I appreciate any observations from users.

Thanks,
Philip Brandes

Arjen - interesting. This is probably based on usage style. For me, moving around the menu with the slight lag, which to me appears very slight though noticeable and basically due to the need for discrete clicking for each cursor move, is not a bother. For me more of a bother (if it could be called that) is to reach to the LCD display for the play / pause / stop functions.

On the other hand I would never consider it in the DSS guide, where I want sustained action while pressing.

The behavior I have noticed (and I guess appropriate) is that commands in a macro will not sustain even if they are the last in the chain.

I guess you will have to judge for yourself. The nice thing is that you can very easily fine tune it afterwards, like going from the default .3 seconds to .2, or even switching from holding down to double-clicking without having to create a new test macro.

Arjen, did you try .2 secs? I found the behavior with .3 acceptable so haven't bothered.

Philip, as far as double-clicking I found it very adequate for where I use it. The only time I have encountered a hiccup is when I fumble, which has happened maybe twice, so it's not really a hiccup, but operator spastic behavior.

For me, these options have made a big difference in usability by using them in a few places, but as we all know, YMMV :-).

DJ

Arjen,

Going through another thread made me wonder something - have you streamlined the minimum repetitions on the cursor commands you're using in the holding test macro? If you have extra reps not really needed (I've seen as many as 6 captured) that will slow down the response between clicks for the macro. In many instances I ended up using 0 or 1, while a couple required 2 reps as minimum for the device to respond.

DJ